


Revenge is Bittersweet

by arashikuro



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Angst, Depressing, Fake Character Death, Friendship, Gen, Mentions of Cancer, Sad, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2019-08-14 02:48:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16484615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arashikuro/pseuds/arashikuro
Summary: Nino gets his revenge for the prank the others played on him before. But is he really doing all of this for revenge?





	Revenge is Bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry this took literally forever to write. This was really hard for me to write due to the nature of the work. I'm really bad with member death. Even though no one actually dies, I do not recommend reading if you are not good with member death in fics.
> 
> Requested by: [**drarashi93**](https://drarashi93.livejournal.com/) and [**newarashian**](http://newarashian.livejournal.com/)
> 
> Sequel to _Karma's a B*tch_ , but you don't have to read that one first. ~~(But again, it's so short, so why not?)~~

“Guys, I have something to tell you.”  
“What?”  
“I...” Nino took a deep breath. “...have cancer.”  
“WHAT?!?”  
“Are you going to be okay?”  
“Of course he’ll be okay! It’s one of those cancers that can be taken care of easily, right? Like one that can be cured with radiation, or a small surgery. Right? RIGHT?”  
Nino shook his head.  
“Don’t tell me...”  
“Nino, what did the doctor say? What kind of cancer is it? What’s the treatment plan?”  
“It’s pancreatic cancer.”  
Jun sank to the ground, tears filling his eyes.  
“Is that type hard to cure?” Worry crept into Ohno’s voice.  
“Yes, it is. It has a very low survival rate. And those who survive are the ones whose cancer is detected early, which is uncommon, as pancreatic cancer is tough to detect until it is too late.”  
Everyone looked at Nino, hopeful that there was an early detection.  
Nino shook his head.  
“The doctor only gave me two weeks to live. The cancer has spread throughout most of my lower body. That explains the back pain I’ve been having.”  
“Two... weeks...”  
“NINO! Please! Don’t die on us!”  
“I was told that nothing can be done. And cancer doesn’t magically disappear, either.”  
Everyone was crying at that point. Even Nino’s eyes were filling up.  
“Stop crying!”  
Everyone looked at Nino, sniffling and wiping away their tears.  
“I don’t deserve your tears.” Nino wiped his own eyes.  
“Rather than being sad, we should be happy these next couple of weeks, right? Arashi’s activities are suspended for now, as I can’t continue to work, and the agency doesn’t want this to get out. So why don’t we take our time off and enjoy it? I don’t want to spend my last weeks surrounded by a bunch of crybabies.”  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
“Let’s go drinking tonight! My treat!”  
Jun glared at Sho and rolled his eyes.  
“Can’t do that, I’m on too many pain meds.”  
“Well, let’s at least go out to eat then!”  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
A plan, this cancer story was, indeed.

 

************************************************************************

A couple years back, the members of Arashi pranked Nino, making him believe they were all dead. Nino, being one who never forgets, decided to get his revenge. Of course, his prank was much more cruel than their short trick, but it was deserved.  
But Nino could help but feel bad. He kept telling himself that he was just doing the same thing they did, it was just another prank, but he hated making his bandmates suffer like this.

But he still went through with the entire plan, never backing out.

Though he kept lying to himself by convincing himself that this was just to get them back, it really wasn’t. Nino was never one to have or show much emotion, and he hated how he felt when he thought his bandmates had been killed. He hated that he broke down crying, he hated that he gave up on life, and most of all, he hated how exposed he felt during those moments. He wondered if his bandmates would act the same way if he had died. He started thinking about it more and more, and started to believe that the others wouldn’t be as upset if he died. Nino wanted to prove to himself that they really would care.

In short, he was just insecure.

 

***********************************************************************

Things went fairly well the next couple of weeks for Arashi, as well as things could go when one of your bandmates was dying. Everyone visited Nino daily, playing video games with him, cooking for him, and just giving him someone to talk to.  
The members stayed strong for Nino. They didn’t show their sadness, or their anger. They saved their crying fits, destructive outbursts, and periods of cursing at every god imaginable for giving a wonderful person such a short life for when they got home.

Nino didn’t see it, but they cared. More than he could ever imagine.

**********************************************************************

Nino beat the odds, still alive three weeks after his two-week prognosis. The members tried to take this as a good sign, but Nino was looking worse and worse. His skin was turning yellow (courtesy of some makeup) and he was losing weight rapidly (Nino didn’t eat when the others weren’t around, which made Nino feel like he was actually sick), which were common symptoms of worsening pancreatic cancer. The fated day came a few days later, when each member received a call from the hospital, saying Nino had passed.

Ohno, visibly shaking, placed his phone down gently, and slowly sat at a chair in the kitchen. He placed his head on the table and cried until he passed out.

Sho threw his phone at the couch, where it would land safely. Tears streamed down his face as he walked through his kitchen, flinging two chairs out of the way. As he headed into the living room, he flipped over his coffee table, everything on top of it toppling off.

Jun, already angry by being woken up to his phone ringing, couldn’t comprehend the words being told to him.  
“He’s dead?”  
“Yes, I am sorry-“  
“HE’S DEAD?!?!?”  
Jun flung the phone across the room, where it slammed into the wall and shattered into pieces. Jun screamed as loud as he could, until his throat dried out.

Aiba’s world froze. Time had come to a standstill. He felt as though everything was falling apart around him. There was no point anymore, was there? His bandmate, his best friend, was gone forever. Aiba glanced at the window of his apartment, and ten stories down he saw the street. He saw people walking to work, chatting with friends, going in and out of shops. He saw people living their normal lives. It wasn’t fair. His life would never be normal again. Aiba opened the window, and briefly considered throwing himself out of it. But he didn’t. He couldn’t do that to Jun, Sho, and Ohno. He couldn’t leave them behind.

***********************************************************************  
The ‘wake’ was a few days later. The remaining members of the now nonexistent Arashi (“Arashi is five people”) were asked to pay their respects an hour before everyone else, to prevent attracting public attention to the actual wake. The casket was open, allowing the men to see Nino for one last time.

Everyone broke down into tears.  
“Why? Why Nino?”  
“There... must be a reason.” Sho said, choking back his tears.  
“Does... anyone... else think that...” Ohno sniffled. “He looks less yellow?”  
“He... does. He looks healthier.”  
“Guys! Did you see that?! He moved!”  
“HE’S DEAD, AIBA.”  
Jun immediately felt terrible when he saw the heartbroken look on Aiba’s face.  
“Sorry for yelling. You have to be seeing things though.”  
“No, I just saw him breathe, too!”  
“Alright come on, we better get going. We are all losing it.”  
“How can you explain what we just saw?”  
“You want him to be alive. You want him to be breathing. So that’s what you are seeing. Simple.”  
“I guess so. Come on guys, let’s say our final goodbyes.”  
“Bye, Nino. Thanks... thanks for everything, really.”  
“Nino, thank you... for being my best friend, for always being there for me, for-“  
“ALRIGHT, STOP IT!” Nino shot straight up, glaring at the men.  
“NINO?!?!”  
The members of the once again complete Arashi jumped on top of Nino, who was still sitting in his casket.  
“Let... me... breathe!” He tried his best to push them off, but they wouldn’t let go of him.  
They were all sobbing, clinging onto Nino as if their lives depended on it.  
“We thought you were dead! How could you do this to us?”  
“Guys, I’m so sorry.” Tears filled Nino’s eyes. “Please, let me explain.”  
Everyone nodded.  
“I feel terrible for doing this to you guys, I really do. I’m not sick. I don't have cancer. I kept telling myself this was revenge for what you guys did back at our place three years ago, before we started to live separately.”  
“For that small prank we played on you where we pretended someone killed us?”  
“You got revenge by torturing us for three weeks? I know our prank was bad, but worrying us and putting us out of work for that long just to get us back is a dick move.”  
“I know, I’m sorry.”  
“You asshole! How could you?”  
“Jun, calm down.”  
“No, I deserve it. But please, let me finish explaining.”  
“Go ahead.”  
“The truth is, when you guys pranked me in the past, I was terrified. As you know, I started crying and lost my will to live. I felt incredibly sad. I tried to convince myself that I was doing this for revenge, but I was really just afraid that you guys wouldn’t care as much if I died.”  
“Eh? Kazu, of course we care! We spent days crying thinking you were gone.”  
“I know that now. But I was just worried that I wasn’t really that important to you. I’m sorry for thinking of you guys that way. But after showing all of my emotions to you guys, I guess I just needed confirmation that you guys felt the same. I’m sorry! Please forgive me...” Tears streamed down Nino's face.  
“Kazu... You should’ve known that we’d care about you...”  
“We’ll forgive you. What matters is that you’re alive and well. Just no more extreme pranks, okay? I think we’ve all learned our lesson.”  
Nino nodded.  
“You know what? We should all move in with each other again!”  
“Yeah, why did we move out again?”  
“Because we actually started making money and didn't have to live together anymore.”  
“Oh yeah...”  
“But I liked living with you guys...”  
“That doesn’t mean we can’t move back in with each other! Right guys?”  
Everyone nodded.  
“Okay, let’s go out to lunch and discuss it. My treat!”  
“Bullshit, you never pay for anything.”  
“I’ll actually pay, I swear!“ Nino pulled his wallet out of his pocket and waved it in Jun's face.  
Everyone laughed as they exited the building, ready to continue on as five once more.

 

 


End file.
